Xbox One unseated PS4 to become the best-selling console for July

Since the launch of Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One gaming consoles in November 2013, the first one has maintained the top spot in sales in the U.S., beating the latter one consequently since last 2 and half years, except the month of October in 2015, when the much awaited Halo 5: Guardians released.

According to the experts, the spike in Xbox One sales is credited to the aggressive sales tactics by Microsoft in the form of many new game bundles along with the console before the launch of its updated console on August 4 – Xbox One S.

In July, many retailers have sold Xbox One with free games for a much lower price than before. Even, some of them sold four extra games for about $250 only, which attracted the gamers as well as non gamers.

In a statement released by the data-tracking firm NPD Group, Microsoft’s Xbox marketing head Mike Nichols said,

We’re honored that Xbox One was the best-selling console in the U.S. in July, and that total gaming hours on Xbox consoles globally were up 18 percent over last year, reaching 1.55 billion hours.

Meanwhile, you should know that the launch of its updated and slimmer Xbox One hasn’t influenced the console sales number achieved by Microsoft, because the updated console launched in August and this sales figure released by NPD is consist of July 2016’s sales. We will have to wait till September 2016’s NPD data to know whether the new device helped the company or not.

However, in the excitement of its overtaking of rival gaming console, Microsoft hasn’t forgotten to share something important related to the Xbox One S. Nichols said in a statement:

“Following its release last week, the 2TB launch edition of Xbox One S sold out in the U.K. and is nearly sold out in the U.S. Later this month on August 23, we will launch 500GB and 1TB options for Xbox One S at $299 and $349, respectively. We’re excited about all the fun gamers are having on Xbox One and all the new releases we’ll be bringing them this holiday.”

It’s expected that Sony will take back its top seat in August month, due to the release of highly anticipated massive space exploration game No Man’s Sky, despite the launch of slimmer 4k Xbox One S. Meanwhile, the PlayStation fans are eagerly waiting for the updated PS4 Neo console, which is confirmed by the Sony and rumored to be launched in September’s event.

Thanks to everyone who helped make #XboxOne the #1 selling console in July according to #NPD, nice to be back on top!